Wednesday, May 9, 2012

"SUPER MOON" on 6th May 2012

"Super moon" phenomenon, known as a perigee full moon, means the Moon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than when it is furthest from the planet. The Moon’s distance from the Earth is not always the same due to the elliptical shape of the orbit and variations in the gravitational attraction between the Moon, Earth and Sun, but it was the closest it will get to the Earth this year and appeared larger because of that.

At its peak, it was about 356,400km (221,457 miles) away from Earth as compared to its usual distance from Earth of 384,000km (238,606 miles). However in Malaysia, we did not have the chance to observe this phenomenon because the Moon rose at 7:32 pm.

It may have been only an optical illusion, but a sight to remember to those who are able to view it. The moon is always beautiful and a full moon is always dramatic. The "super moon" rewarded many moon gazers with bright, crisp detail of the full moon's craters and basins. The biggest and brightest full moon of the year on Saturday night, graced the skies and glowed around the world.

In Brazil it illuminated the landmark Christ the Redeemer statue. In Florida, fishermen worked their lines amid the moonlight in Bal Harbour. And near Athens, tourists watched as the moon rose behind the Temple of Poseidon.